


If I Were Free

by annelea



Series: The Renge Clan [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, BAMF Umino Iruka, F/M, Multiple Sakuras, Original Character(s), Sequel, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-03-13 11:19:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18939883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annelea/pseuds/annelea
Summary: Every great Clan in every great nation, and many of the smaller ones, too, has its time under the microscope at least once.  Some clans were slaughtered because of what was found.  Others were glorified and worshiped until they fell apart, ruining everything around them in the process of decay from the inside out.The Renge Clan, officially formed thirteen years ago, came from four dead clans, the Hatake, the Haruno, the Uchiha, and the Uzumaki.  Most of the original founding members had dealt with this scrutiny when they were younger, the loose ends of clans drawing their last breaths.  Now they face it all over again, and their children are paying the price for being born into a bloodline filled with many gifts in a world that wished to regulate just how many gifts a bloodline could have.





	1. Whispers and Stares

**Author's Note:**

> I debated about doing this for a long time. The decision of how much time travel to include, and all the potential repercussions are still up in the air. For now, the story is going to be told through the perspective of the child Hatake Sakura was pregnant with at the end of The Old Law. It will shift later on. I'm hoping to not make it so monotonous by sticking with one character's experiences alone like with The Old Law, though.

Renge Sora felt the eyes on him everywhere he went.  People even peeked into the grounds of the main house in hopes of catching sight of one of the “freaks” visiting.  His dad got the ANBU dude who was around all the time to grow some thick vines and bushes around the walls, but that wasn’t enough in a ninja village like Konoha.

He just wanted to be able to sit in his bedroom and read a book, maybe look out the window and bird watch.  Instead, there was always the shadow of a figure blocking his light. When he would look outside, he’d see the figure quickly disappear, usually of its own accord.  Sometimes one of the ANBU would have to remove them. There were ANBU who liked to look in, too. It sucked.

His cousin, Uchiha Sarada, didn’t have a clue what it was really like to be a freak.  At least, with her family, the freak factor was obvious. People tended to NOT want to look at her activated kekkei genkai.  For Sora, though, people wanted him to use it on them.

He had been successfully kidnapped once as a baby.  He didn’t remember any of it. It happened when he was days old.  But, at that moment, the Renge Clan really isolated itself. They went from boosting their numbers to holding steady.  Only his nephew decided to have another kid after that. He caught hell from Minato-nii-san for that. Yet, none of them would give up Himawari for anything.

That kidnapping had the side effect of a consistent ANBU detail around the main house from then on.  Sora couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t tailing him and the others his age. Not until today.

And now the eyes were doing more than looking at him.  They were all searching everywhere for the sign of an S-class body guard that wasn’t even there.  They were growing bolder now.

For the first time in his life, Sora understood why the guard was always present.  He wasn’t as glad to be walking on his own as he thought he would be.

“Hey, kiddo,” his aunt’s boyfriend started walking by his side seemingly out of nowhere.  “Where are you off to?”

“Are you the reason I don’t have a normal guard today, Obito-san?” Sora questioned him instead.

“Nope,” the oldest living Uchiha gave him a smile.  “Hinata-san thinks Himawari-chan is ready to be unguarded now.  So, you all loose the guards. It’s a test run. No more leash, and no more shield.  How does it feel?”

“Dunno yet.  Feels weird.”

Obito stopped and looked down on the boy critically, then laughed, “Of the three of you, I would have figured your sister to be the one to sound the most like your father.  But, no, it’s you! The most spoiled of Kakashi-baka’s brats is the most like him, the least spoiled of my generation. Go figure!”

“Why are you here?” Sora demanded instead of speaking is real thoughts.  He was actually quite curious as to what Obito was saying about his father.

“Because your mom and aunt thought I should be?”

“Not funny.  Why are you bothering me?”

Obito’s face sobered up, looking around them, then back at the pink haired boy.  “Come on. It’s lunch time. Let me buy you some tempura.”

Sora squinted at the man, about to refuse.

“We’ll have more privacy.”

“Fine.”

“I know a great place your aunt loves a couple streets over,” Obito proclaimed, automatically going in that direction, certain the boy would follow him.

They made their way in relative silence, both aware of the eyes on them as they walked.  There were whispers, too. Some weren’t even bothering to whisper. Comments abounded about the both of them.  Unnatural. Freak. Traitor. Selfish. Murderer. Liar. Coward. Sora soon realized that much of the talk was about Obito and not himself.  The history books were clear about what happened in the Fourth War and who the major players were on both sides. Not everything was in detail; few knew the whole truth, and those that did chose not to speak much on it.  His parents did what they could to correct the narrative in the history books, but weren’t able to adequately explain everything. Authors filled in the blanks the best they could.

“Look, kid, when I was your age, the Uchiha were the most feared and whispered about clan in Konoha,” Obito spoke around a full mouth.  “We were constantly under suspicion of treason. Rightly so. My clan main house was at war with itself and the Hokage through politics.  All because of a law that barred Uchiha from ever advancing to the position of Hokage and an old, reworked tablet that supposedly held secrets to great power even Uchiha Madara was unable to attain.”

“I know,” Sora sighed.  “It's all in the history books."

“Your uncle and I have never stopped being stared at, talked about, or even attacked in broad daylight in the streets on occasion.  We made our mistakes, and we and Sarada-chan are still paying for them. But now, it’s your clan that’s getting the brunt of the village’s mistrust.  Partly because your parents accept us. Partly because you have a real freaky and powerful kekkei genkai that can turn the world upside down if you want to.  It’s more dangerous than obtaining and using the Mangekyo Sharingan. The people realize this. They’re never going to stop. You’ll just have to get used to it, brush it off.  Eventually, after a few generations, maybe, it will die down. Your descendents will be treated more like the Aburame, and their descendents will eventually be treated more like the Yamanaka.  That is my hope.”

“Nobody’s allowed to have kids in my family any more,” Sora reminded.  “People still want us to prove our loyalty first.”

“They can all fuck off,” Obito growled.  “It’s not the kekkei genkai you may or may not have, it’s what you yourself do with it that matters.  None of your family have used it to harm Konoha. Instead, your mom used it to help every major village in every major nation and several smaller ones.  That’s probably the reason nobody out right attacked you yet today.”

“Or, maybe it was because you were following me around?” Sora pinned him with a glare.

“Or, maybe that,” Obito sighed.  “Hey, I wish you were a normal kid being teased about your hair and forehead like your mother was.  I heard they were harsh on her.”

“But… shouldn’t you have been in the same grade as her?” Sora questioned.  “I mean… you’re like, technically a year older than my dad, right?”

“True, but your mother was born after…” Obito paused.  After Kakashi killed Rin. After Obito gave in to Madara.  After he helped kill Sora’s brother. “Well, after a lot of things.  Fourteen years after your father. She caught up to him in age when she had your brother and sister.  I didn’t meet her until she was a couple years older than you. She had already started coming into herself at that point.  I was actually scared of her. If it wasn’t for my technique, Kamui, she would have hit me many times.”

“Was this talk supposed to make me feel better?” Sora asked before downing his glass of soda.  “Because we just have a small audience outside.”

Obito glanced out the window, noting that there were actually several girls and a couple boys hanging around, looking in.  He smiled. “I think that might be your fan club and not mean ass holes.”

“I don’t have a fan club.”

“Bull shit.  Every son of a Hokage has a fan club.  Even your nephew had a fan club of one to start off with.  It grew later on, but he would have had more if it wasn’t for…  Well. Things happened when he wa born. It wasn’t his fault he was an outcast.”

“Why are you all sullen today?” Sora demanded.  “That’s my job, right?”

Obito smiled at him bitterly.  “I’m about to be in a lot of trouble again.”

“What for this time?”

“Your aunt is pregnant.”


	2. Chapter 2

The house was quiet when Sora got home.  It was the kind of quiet that came with a thickness in the air so dense it felt like walking through… well, he wasn’t sure what to liken it to.

There were a few times he could remember this house being so quiet.  The last time was when his grandfather, Kazuo, had been here. He had brought a young girl with him.  It was silent, just like this, before all hell broke loose. Kazuo left with a bloody nose, and he took the girl with him.

Today, unlike that day, Sora did not take off his shoes when he came home.  He knew his mother or sister would yell at him if they saw, but they probably wouldn’t even notice.

“We can’t keep being afraid of them.”

That was his Aunt Rin.  She sounded like she was pleading.

“We only just had the ANBU detail removed from the kids.”  His brother, Minato, sounded concerned. “We shouldn’t have taken special liberties with them for so long as it is.”

“I distinctly remember you taking those liberties with me,” Kakashi, Sora’s father, commented.  “You had planned on keeping me around Naruto until he graduated the academy.”

“That was for one child, not four,” Minato corrected.  “And it was my son. I was Hokage. It’s not unheard of.”

“We all agreed not to have any more children of our own,” Sakumo, his great-uncle, groused.  “The kids you all had would be the next ones to carry on the legacy.”

“It’s not right to deny her a child if she wants it.”  Sora wasn’t sure if this was his mother or her twin. “If it wasn’t for the pact you all forced on us, Sasuke and I would have had more.”

Ah, so it was his Aunt Sakura, not his mother.

“Look at it this way,” Obito’s voice came from near the kitchen.  Sora could see they were all gathered between the kitchen and the dining room.  “Now, there will be more Uchiha blood in the mix. If this is to be an official Clan, some in-breeding is expected.  Right now, there isn’t much diversity in the gene pool. That’s bad. We need to have more kids over all. At least two each, just to maintain our current number when the eldest start to die off.  Obviously, they won’t be able to marry one another. Too closely related for healthy offspring. If we don’t have enough of our own, the chances of future generations getting any combination of our respective kekkei genkai is extremely reduced.  Too many other factors will be added in. Each time we procreate outside of our own, the chances of passing on a kekkei genkai is cut in half. That’s fine for you all of the Hatake, Haruno, and Hyuuga bloodlines, but, right now, there are only two full Uchiha left to pass on the Sharingan.  We agreed that our dojutsu would be integrated into the Renge bloodline, not bread out of it by only allowing one Uchiha descendant into the mix.”

Oh, so that was what this was all about.  Obito and Aunt Rin had come out with their news.  Kazuo was about the only one that would be out right attacked in this house.  Everyone else had learned to use their words to sort things out with each other over the span of Sora’s lifetime.

Quietly, he made his way back to the entry and took off his shoes.  Unlike most of the older Renge members, Sora didn’t wear house shoes.  He liked going bare foot instead. He figured it toughened up his feet better, and it took less time when he wanted to put on his outside shoes.

“Oh, hey, Sora!”

He froze before his foot could touch the first step in the stairwell.  Sarada and her friend Chouchou were paused in the middle of a card game, staring at him.

“Hey, what’s up Pinky?” the dark skinned girl smirked at him.

“Other than your weight?” Sora quipped back.  He hated that girl. She was so self absorbed and thought every guy should be in love with her.  Yet, she never bothered to be the kind of person a guy would want.

Sarada got between them in an instant.  “Just let him go, Chouchou. You did start it.”

“Well, I’m not scared of him!” Chouchou proclaimed.  “He doesn’t have anything special!”

“Bring it, bitch!” Sora took a step back at her.

“What’s going on in here?”  The three separated before they could get close enough to start fighting.  Kakashi was standing in the doorway, looking rather angry with them all. He had clearly heard Sora’s last words at the least.  “I expected better from you today, Sora-kun. Chouchou-chan, this is my home. Act as if you know you’re in the main house of a clan that’s produced three Hokage.  Sarada, good job.”

It was clear now that he’d heard more than they thought.

* * *

 

Sora looked at the target ahead with disappointment.  Only one of his kunai had hit the target. Well, it really was just sticking on the edge for a second before falling off.  He was nowhere near where his brother and sister had been at his age. Sarada and Boruto were way more proficient with this than him at half his age.  They all had awesome teachers, too.

Sora, though…  He had a lot of people around all the time, but nobody to really pay any direct attention to him for any amount of time.  His father, brother, and nephew were always busy with clan or village issues. His sister was always hanging around Boruto and Sarada’s team captain.  His mother was always getting called away for medical emergencies. Grandpa Sakumo and Uncle Jiraiya were often away on missions together. Aunt Rin and Obito were pretty much the same.  Hinata-sama was busy with Himawari-chan. Nobody else really felt any responsibility towards him. He had the ANBU tailing him all the time, but they never offered to help. He figured a lot of them were jealous of his position.  If they only knew he was so lonely.

His grades in school excelled in everything except weaponry.  He learned from books and lectures well. He learned from observing the other kids get into fights how to dodge, block, and counter strike.  It was basic, common shinobi tools he struggled with. All he got was Aburame Shino’s occasional attention. He guessed that the teacher figured he was going to get home tutoring like most clan affiliated kids did.  Most shinobi clans had someone on hand to work with the kids directly for this purpose.

Not the Renge.  Even after over a decade, they were still in a bit of disarray.  Decisions weren’t made by head of house with council from other members.  It was a team effort between most of the older generations, and debates took time in a democracy like that.  Such decision making processes ate up hours and hours a week. Often, this happened on the weekends when Sora had the time off from school to actually learn.

“What’s with that aim?”

“I know.  I suck.” Sora bemoaned, dropping to his ass on the ground.  “How are you today, Yamato-san?”

“I heard the news that you have another cousin on the way,” the man mentioned, coming to rest more gracefully beside the boy.

“Is there anything Dad doesn’t tell you?” Sora asked, looking to the man.

“I’m sure there’s lots of things he doesn’t tell me,” Yamato shrugged, looking toward Sora’s failure with throwing the kunai.  “Those are too big for your hands. You’re smaller than the rest. Being born premature means it will take longer for you to reach the same height and weight as the rest of the kids your age.  It also means a harder time learning a lot of the weapons. Have you tried senbon instead?”

“Jiraiya-oji-san and Grandpa Sakumo said that those were for girls or medics only.  Even medics don’t use them in the field unless they are girls.”

“Nonsense.” Yamato frowned, turning to look at Sora fully.  “There is a man by the name of Shiranui Genma who walks around with one in his mouth and two more sets on his thigh at all times.  He learned from your mother’s colleague, Shizune. He is better with them than most are with kunai.”

“Is he small like me?”

“Not at all.  Actually, he’s got rather large hands.  He decided to break from the norm and learn something difficult for his body size.  It’s a shock to his opponents when he sets aside the kunai and starts using the senbon.”

“And who’s going to teach me if I decide I want to learn?”

“If you were a normal kid, I’d tell you to ask your mother for the basics, but she’s honestly quite sloppy with them and never has time.  So, how about I set things up for you to meet Genma-san?”

“Wouldn’t he have students to worry about?  Kids of his own?”

“Nope.”

“Then how do you know he’ll be any good with someone like me?”

Yamato’s smile was full of memory.  “He used to proctor the Chunin Exams every year.  I worked security at several of these occasions. Honestly, I think he’s the best choice for you.  He can tell pretty quick when someone is done for and when they have just one more option left to try.”

“Why can’t you help me with the kunai instead?” Sora asked.  He had always liked the man. Yamato was patient, never talked to him like he was a stupid kid, and had imparted many lessons verbally that the others never bothered to even state that they could teach him.  He’d just never really had the time to show him anything.

“Because, Sora-kun, I am in high demand on difficult missions, like most of your family.  I, too have a rare kekkei genkai that is specially suited for certain kinds of work that are needed often.”

“Then why are you bothering to sit with me now?”

“I have a few minutes before scheduled training with my partner for the next mission.  Figured you needed a friend.”

“I don’t have friends.”

Yamato rolled his eyes.  “Kid, you have plenty of people ready to be your friend if you’d just let them in.”

“They want to use me to get favors from Naruto-san.  They’re not interested in being friends. Nobody wants to be friends with someone like me.”

Yamato sighed, reaching out to ruffle Sora’s hair.  “You are definitely more like your father than the rest.  Just trust me about Genma-san. Please?”

* * *

 

“Dad, can I show you something?”

Kakashi looked up from the laptop.  It wasn’t often anymore that Sora came to him with something to show.  Usually, his youngest would just peek in the room and walk on.

“You’ll have to come outside.  Mom might get mad if I show you in the house and screw it up.”

Kakashi smiled at that.  So, this kid finally found something explosive?  He gave a nod, pulled up his mask and followed Sora out to the back yard.  It was not lost on him that there were a couple new practice targets strung up.

Before he could look back at Sora, there were two long, thin needles sticking out of each of the new targets.  One set was slightly thicker than the other, and hollow. None of the needles hit dead center, but they were almost equal distance from the mark.  Kakashi was impressed. Yamato had told him that Sora would be training with Genma, but Kakashi thought that was just because Genma had the time, not to learn to use senbon specifically.

Then he noticed something else.  The space between the two solid senbon was burnt.  Electrical. The space around the two hollow senbon was wet with some sort of thick amber liquid.

“I’m using honey in the hollow ones for training,” Sora explained.  “Where we go, there’s lots of wasps. If I spill any on myself, I get stung.  Then I have to heal that like Yoriko-nee-san taught me.”

“Training in two new techniques and maintaining a third at the same time?” Kakashi raised a brow at his son.  “That’s impressive!”

“I know I’m not as fast as you, Dad, but I got this far in three weeks.”

Kakashi’s eyes widened more.  Three weeks? Sora had gone from barely being able to generally chuck a kunai in a basic direction to doing this in three weeks?  “Sora-kun, that’s better than me.”

“Huh?”

“It took me over a year to create a basic Chidori.  I couldn’t use it properly without the Sharingan. After that, it took months to adapt it down to Shiden so I could keep using my original nature.”  Kakashi looked around and pointed to a human sized straw target a little farther away. “Can you put two more of your solid senbon into that, but this time one on each side of the body and still direct current between them?”

“Um…  I could try?”

Kakashi stepped back and motioned for Sora to go ahead.  Sora took a few steps closer to the target. He already knew his current range well enough before switching from kunai to senbon.  He placed one solid needle in each hand and threw them one after the other. He knew what his father was suggesting right away, sinking one into the upper left of the body, and the other into the lower right.  Sparks flew from each senbon, but did not connect. Instead of creating a string of energy between them, they flared out and set the straw on fire from two points. Kakashi was quick to put it out.

“Mah, we’ll just have to work on the amount of natured chakra you can store in them before you throw them,” Kakashi commented.  “Though, I believe they are too small for what you would need… Perhaps, you should aim for disabling shots instead of a direct kill for now, until you grow bigger and stronger.”

“So, you’ll help me with that?” Sora asked, hopeful.

Kakashi leaned back against the tree where the burnt dummy was hanging.  “I have handed everything over to Naruto. You and me get to start spending more time together.”

 

* * *

 

Due to his size and health issues as an infant, Sora was placed in a younger class in school.  Iruka had him moved up into a class two years older when it became apparent that the math, science, and language classes of that year weren’t enough to keep his attention.  That’s when Sora began to fail. He passed his tests with flying colors on everything non-physical. However, his actual homework and classwork were nearly zero percent.

Sora was being bullied daily.  People picked on him for his size and his hair.  They made fun of him for not being as strong or as fast.  He was shoved in the halls by younger children for being better at anything.  He was shoved in the halls by older kids for thinking he belonged in class with them.  Those that didn’t bully him stayed back in fear when his temper showed up, especially after he knocked one kid out, and three more were put to the ground by his ANBU guard.

Today marked three months since Sora had the guard last.  He’d suffered even more in school, and he finally snapped.  Iruka was both impressed and disappointed. He was impressed at the speed and precision Sora had used in the fight, allowing him to over take a boy twice his size.  He was disappointed that Sora didn’t know when to stop.

Yamanaka Inojin sat beside Sora across the desk from Iruka.  He had already dealt with Iwabe. Now it was time to deal with these two.  Things were straight forward with Inojin. Inojin had stepped in to try and break up the fight once Sora gained the upper hand.  The problem was that Sora had also turned on Inojin.

“Inojin, I applaud your willingness to break up the fight at the right time.  However, in the future, I suggest that you do not get involved in fights that are not your own.  Your mother is on her way to get you. You may return to classes tomorrow.” Iruka gestured for the blond boy to exit the room.

Inojin took a moment to get up, sharing a glare with Sora first.  Of course, Sora had to lash out at him with a shove.

Iruka was across the desk and blocking the hit before it could connect or Inojin could retaliate.  Iruka nodded to Inojin again to leave. He forced Sora back into the chair and stood over the boy. “You, on the other hand, are now expelled for the rest of the year.  Your brother will be taking over your schooling. Depending on how you behave with him, we may consider allowing you back next year, same classes.”

“I don’t want to come back here,” Sora ground out through gritted teeth.  “Everyone hates me!”

“They don’t hate you, Sora.  They hate what you represent.” Iruka corrected, trying to soften his tone.

“And what is that, exactly?” Sora demanded, turning his hardened grey-green eyes on the man.  “People whisper behind my back all the time, like I’ve done something wrong to them when I don’t even know their names!”

“It’s not your fault that you were born to the family you have.  Those people are jealous of you. Most of them have family that they will never meet due to events that happened before you were born.  Unlike them, you have a family of resurrected, famous ninja who have three generations of Hokage in their living ranks. Your family has time-travel capabilities, a Jinchurriki-technically three-and members with the Sharingan.  Need I remind you that the Sharingan come from the Uchiha bloodline which were a major part of our enemies in the days leading up to and through the Fourth War. May I remind you that two of the people who tried to destroy Konoha are said Uchiha who have married into your family.  Yes, they throw their hatred at you, and they deserve a place to put their anger.

“It shouldn’t be you, though.  Boruto, Himawari, and Sarada keep the surnames of their fathers, but you were the first to officially be given the name Renge.  A school setting may not be the best place for you after all.”

The door opened, admitting Namikaze Minato.  “I’m sorry, Iruka-sensei. I was in the middle of something, and…  Sora-kun, what happened to your face?”

“Iwabe-baka threw a wall of rock on me,” Sora huffed.

“And what happened to cause that?”

“He doesn’t like my hair.”

“What did you do about it?”

“Beat his ass.  Now Iruka-sensei has expelled me and seems to think you’re going to be my teacher.”

Minato wasn’t sure if he was going to laugh, roll his eyes, or smack his little brother.  Yep. Just like their father. Small and petulant, but honest, smart, and strong. Instead he addressed Iruka.  “Look, I know I did an okay job with Kakashi, but do you really have to make me go through that a second time?”

“Unfortunately for Kakashi-sama, your brother, and even yourself, one-on-one seems to be the best way.” Iruka commented.  “I can provide you with all the proper book work, and you know everything else on instinct. It was you or Shiranui-san.  He has taken interest, but I doubt he’s disciplined enough to make sure Sora continues to study other subjects. The rules for graduation have changed.  We don’t train them just to be ninja anymore.”


	3. Chapter 3

Uchiha Sakura snorted when she heard the news about Sora’s fight.  Sarada finally seemed to respect the smaller of her half-brothers. On paper, they were her cousins, but genetically, Sora and Minato were her brothers, and Yoriko her sister.  In life, she tried to dismiss being related to them at all. The Uchiha name and bloodline carried enough weight on its own.

Today, Sarada had gained a newfound respect for Sora, the second smallest of their blood family.  Well, he was now the third smallest since Rin became pregnant. Sakura didn’t want to think about that right now.  If Sora thought he had it hard, Rin’s child would have it harder.

“So, now what is he going to do?” she asked her daughter.

“Yondaime-sama is going to teach him his school work.  I think Shiranui-san is going to keep tutoring him in weapons.  Rokudaime-sama will be teaching him to harness his chakra for ninjutsu.  I heard that much, but Aunt Sakura caught me listening and told me to go home.” Sarada explained.  “I thought Rokudaime-sama was supposed to help me with the Sharingan while Papa’s away. Now Sora-baka has to go and ruin it for me!”

“Your father is home, so what’s the problem?”

“He’s busy training Boruto!” Sarada whined.

“Sarada, do not raise your voice at me like that!” Sakura commanded.  “If neither of them will help you, maybe you could ask Obito-san.”

“Why would I ask him?  He tried killing everybody.”

Sakura rolled her eyes.  “So did your father, and you don’t seem to hate him for it.”

“Excuse me?” Sarada couldn’t believe her ears right now.  “Mama, did you just say that Papa-?”

Sakura’s jaw dropped.  “I thought you knew now.  He said he was going to tell you.”

“Tell me what, exactly?” Sakura stepped closer.

“This is something we need to talk about as a family,” Sakura shook her head.  “I shouldn’t have said that without asking Sasuke first. I’m sorry.”

“How much of the family is required?” Sarada asked, worried that it could be a whole Renge Clan affair which would dissolve into arguments based on perspective the way any discussion of the Third War did when the Hatake members and Obito spoke about it.

“You, me, and your Papa.  Obito-san if your Papa thinks it’s best.  Close family. You can talk about it with the other older family members one on one if you want more clarification of their part in things, but only after the three of us sit down and talk about it together.”

“Talk about what together?” Sasuke’s voice came to them from the main entry.

“Mama said you tried killing everyone just like Obito-san,” Sarada informed him.  “Is it true?”

Sasuke froze, shoe still in hand.  “Sakura, I didn’t have time to speak with her yet.”

“So I just found out,” Sakura spoke lowly.  “I’m sorry, Sasuke, we were arguing about who would teach her to use the Sharingan and it slipped out.  I thought you would have talked to her by now, at least told her that you had a darker past than she was lead to believe before.”

“I want answers!” Sarada demanded.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed.  “Can I get a shower first?”

“No.”

“Demanding and annoying like your mother was,” Sasuke complained under his breath before speaking up.  “I’m getting one anyway. You will have to wait while I collect my thoughts.”

“You mean how to tell me some of it instead of all of it.” Sarada corrected him.

“Sarada-chan, we didn’t tell you because you don’t need to know.  It doesn’t affect your life as it would have if you were around when we were young.  I will tell you what I want you to know, and nothing more. Only because I think you deserve an explanation for the way some people treat you, and for some of the things you have witnessed when you foolishly ran off to find me two years ago.”

“I want to know everything!”

“Knowledge like that is dangerous,” Sasuke retorted.  “It is dangerous to you, specifically. Now, finish helping your mother with dinner.  I’ll tell you what I’m willing to when we eat. But, be prepared, you may lose your appetite.”

Frustrated, Sarada turned on her heel and went to the kitchen.  She started setting plates down hard, practically tossing utensils.  She didn’t care if it looked just right or not, unlike usual when everything had to be set perfectly.

Seeing as dinner itself was done and just sitting on the stove to stay warm, Sakura followed Sasuke to the bedroom and into the master bath.  He was still working at the buttons on his vest when she closed and locked the door behind herself.

“What are you doing?” Sasuke asked, pulling the vest off and working at taking off his shirt.

Sakura grabbed at his belt and started to help him out of his pants.  “Joining you.”

“You’re not going to make sure she doesn’t just run off and interrogate Obito-san instead?”

“She wants to hear it from you more than anything,” Sakura answered, starting to undress herself.  “And you, love, need a few moments with someone who understands first. We need to decide how much to tell her.  She’s older than you were when you ran away. I think she can handle the whole thing, not just the watered down version we thought about telling her before.”

“I can’t find the words to make it make sense to someone with such a different life,” Sasuke admitted, stepping into the shower.

“Then show her,” Sakura suggested.  “I know you can. You showed me once.  Show her what you showed me at the end of the War… just… maybe don’t add in the part where you and Naruto almost finally succeeded in killing each other.  Don’t even add in that you intended to kill him the second time you fought in the valley. Maybe she should just think you two lost your arms because a friendly spar got out of hand, especially on Naruto’s part.  And don’t let her know you tried to kill me more than the once. We want her to understand you, not hate you.”

“Yeah, we can’t let her know I almost let you kill me that time.” Sasuke smirked at her, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

“No you didn’t.” Sakura laughed at him, reaching behind him for the shampoo.

“Yes, actually, I did,” Sasuke admitted, allowing her to pour the two-in-one shampoo he preferred into his hand before joining her in washing.  “That wasn’t even the first chance I gave you. Obviously, it wasn’t the last.”

“You know I could never actually do it.”

“I know you could, but chose not to.  Don’t try to tell me otherwise.”

“I always had too soft of a soft spot for you,” Sakura admitted, taking the shower head out of its cradle to rinse her own hair as he reached for a razor.

Sasuke stopped short of bringing metal to skin.  “Your soft spot tightens up just fine when it needs to.”

Sakura blushed all over.  It wasn’t often he would speak to her like that.  Usually it was very late at night. These days, it was only when Sarada wasn’t home.  The girl had the ability to show up right when either of them decided to start to shamelessly flirt.  That’s why Sakura locked the bathroom door. She wanted it to be clear not to even try to interrupt them.

Knowing he was expected to tell the truth about his youth in a few moments was stressing Sasuke.  The only way Sakura really knew to help him destress was through sex. She had a feeling he was going to need to destress twice tonight.  Once now, and once after dinner. For now, though, she wouldn’t bother with herself. Sakura replaced the shower head, kissing him and pressing their bodies close.

“What are you doing?” Sasuke muttered against her lips, not at all trying to pull away.

“You need this right now,” Sakura whispered, pumping a little bit of conditioner into her hand.

Before he knew it, her slicked hand was running the length of his shaft, her other hand caressed his side and back, trailing down to grab his ass.  Sasuke hummed in pleasure as she circled the tip of his dick with her thumb. Sakura leaned forward to kiss and suck at his throat, feeling his dick twitch in her palm as his breath hitched.  Her stroking increased in pace, hand turning to stroke his balls now and then.

“Oh, fuck, just like that, baby,” Sasuke moaned, resting his hand on her shoulder to try and keep some stability.

“Come for me, love,” Sakura whispered in his ear before peppering kisses across his face and throat.

He stopped her kisses by fisting his hand in her hair and pulling her back for a deep, soulful kiss like they hadn’t shared in almost a year, pouring all of his emotion into it as she finished him off.  She held him up, her back against the wall as he leaned over her, his cum landing on her belly as he panted hard.

“Better?” Sakura questioned after he started to bear his own weight again.

“Thank you.”  Sasuke kissed her forehead and backed off.

“Okay.  Let’s clean up and go face the music.  Then you get to return the favor.”

The pair washed and changed into more comfortable clothing, but definitely not bed clothes.  There was a high risk of Sarada running off and leaving the door open. Then, she’d probably go see Boruto.  Then Naruto or Hinata would escort her home. They needed to be somewhat dressed for that.

Sarada, it seemed, had taken heed to what Sasuke had said about losing her hunger.  When they came down stairs it was to find that she was already half way through her plate of food.

Sasuke sat down as Sakura took his plate to fill it.  Sarada put her glass down and stared at him, waiting.

“I’m not going to tell you anything right out,” Sasuke spoke first.  “I will show you key memories. My brother did this to me once when I was a child.  I used that to explain things to your mother. I will not show you everything, but most.  There are certain moments your mother does not want you to know of, and I agree that they are not needed.  You may ask questions after that.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Sarada-chan, what is bothering you?”

The teen looked up to the clone of the Seventh Hokage, trusting him with the anger in her eyes, the anger that activated her Sharingan, her Sharingan that he did not recoil from.  Sarada was surprised, actually, that he held his place, met her eyes without fear.

“Okay, see, I know that look really well.  Why are you angry?” Naruto asked, sitting beside her on the bench.  “Your mom is worried about you. She said you ran away yesterday and haven’t been back.”

“How did you find me?” Sarada asked, blinking away her red eyes to reveal the black.  “I didn’t go to any of my friends.”

“I have my ways,” Naruto smiled at her.  “Come on. Talk to me. I’m really here, not a clone.”

“Did my parents and you really keep trying to kill each other?” Sarada blurted out.

Naruto’s smile dropped into a soft frown.  “How did you find out about that?”

“He tried to hide it, but I saw some things…  And Obito-san didn’t deny anything! Rokudaime-sama didn’t deny anything!  I see how much you all love each other, but… Why? Are one of you going to try to kill me next?  Is someone going to try to steal my eyes?”

“That was a different time, Sarada-chan.”  Naruto leaned back, putting his real arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to his side.  “Remember, there are different sides to the story than just your father’s. He was showing you himself, not the rest of us.  What he did was right in his mind at the moment it happened. He wanted you to see it from his perspective.”

“What about Obito-san and Rokudaime-sama?”

“Their story started before your parents’ and mine.  We can’t answer for them. We can only answer for ourselves.  I wish I could show you my side of things like Sasuke. What I can tell you is this: He made a lot of irrational decisions based on the limited and twisted information he was fed to by power hungry liars who used him as a tool.  After our last fight, when we destroyed each other’s arm, it was your mother who saved us. She saved us both in many ways, our lives included. That was when he realized what a fool he’d been, how he could have his dream without killing the people who loved him.  That’s when he understood a different kind of love, the kind that your mother and I gave him. You were born because he learned to love your mother. Now, you are the most important person to him. He loves and respects you, and he would never hurt you like Itachi and Obito hurt him.  Protecting you, and making sure you can protect yourself when he and the rest of us are gone, is his primary goal in life now. It has been since the moment he learned of your existence.”

“Why is Obito-san here and alive instead of my uncle?”

“The other Sakura cannot cure genetic diseases caused by inbreeding.  Itachi-san was dying before your father caught up to him. Obito-san, though…  He was like your father, an emotional kid who watched his most important person be murdered for reasons he did not understand.  He learned the truth not long before he died. Like your father, he has the right to make up for what he has done. It’s a great bonus that he and Kakashi-sensei stopped trying to kill each other.”

“Are you sure about that?” Sarada asked.  “I met up with Sora-kun last week. He wanted to test his senbon against my kunai.  We didn’t end up training together. We watched them spar instead. There was a lot of anger there.”

“Sarada-chan, when you’ve been through as much as they have, but hold positions that mean you have to stay pleasant all the time, anger tends to build up.  Eventually, you have to purge it as safely as possible or else end up exploding on the wrong people. Kakashi-sensei and Obito-san know each other’s limits, they know how much they can vent on one another.  They each know that the other can take it. I’m sure one of the Sakuras was with them just in case. Those two just have this inner sense that tells them when one of their loved ones is about to get the crap beat out of them.”

Naruto scooted away from her a bit, searching her eyes.  “Why did you run away? You already knew some of this stuff anyway.”

“You know, it’s bad enough that people think we can just teleport through time and fix things on somebody’s whim,” Sarada started to rant.  “I got to step out of that problem by keeping the Uchiha name. Boruto has his stuff to deal with, Himawari is looked down on by at least half the Hyuuga because she didn’t get branded like Neji-san.  But now I find out that there is a real chance I might go crazy and start killing people I love over some crap that happened thousands of years ago? Maybe she should have just let Obito-san stay dead!  Maybe Mama should have let Papa die! Maybe I wish you were my father and not him!”

“Well, that would be kinda strange… me having a kid with my grandma…”  Naruto teased, pulling a face on her. “But, seriously, you know you’re welcome in my home any time you need.  I just wish you would let your parents know first. They aren’t freaking out and sending out full search parties because they trust you, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worried.”

* * *

“I’m not so comfortable with this.” Hatake Sakura hugged herself as she watched her sons take off on their first official mission together.  “He’s too young. Too small for this.”

Kakashi hummed a small laugh beside her.  “At his age, I had been ANBU for four years.  At his age, you were witnessing the beginning of the Fourth War, a front line operative in the fight against Akatsuki.  Minato was in the middle of the Third War. He is our son. He has a great teacher. I can speak from experience. He will do just fine.  It’s just a simple escort mission.”

“So was my first mission outside Konoha.  Remember how that turned out?” Sakura glared at him.

“Well, I’d like to think the fact that you had an excellent team captain and sensei at the time had a lot to do with the fact that that all ended well.”  Kakashi smiled at her. “Besides, he’s already got us all beat on one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“He’s the first one in our family for a few generations to make it to sixteen without being killed at least once.  Dying now and then may build character faster, but I think living is a far more likeable way to do it. Don’t you agree?”

Sakura took off at a sprint to catch up to Minato and Sora, tackling them both from behind with a tight hug, one arm around each.  Of course, they struggled like crazy to get out of her grasp. She reluctantly let go.

“I’m not ready for this.” Sakura admitted, pulling her youngest to her chest again.  “Can’t I just have one normal kid who doesn’t get themselves killed? Can’t you just tell them that he’s not suited for being a shinobi, Minato?  Does he really have to get his hands as dirty as ours?”

“Mom, we’re just going to relieve the current security detail on a low level noble’s niece,” Minato explained.  “There will be other guards around. It’s just a show of strength to win political favor. Yoriko did one of these on her own two months ago.”

“What?  She didn’t tell me!”

“Because she knew how you would react, Mom.” Sora rolled his eyes.

“She told me she was going to a hot springs resort!”

“She did.” Minato sighed, helping his baby brother get untangled from their mother, then standing her up to give her a hug of his own.  “Now. We’re going to be late at the rendezvous if you don’t let us get moving.”

“But-”

“It’s their decision to take the mission, Sakura,” Kakashi spoke from behind her.  He’d taken his lazy ass time coming to the rescue, in Minato’s opinion. “Come on. I have something infuriating to keep you busy while they’re gone.”

* * *

Infuriating was a mild word in Sakura’s opinion when she heard the news.

Previously, anyone born into a clan with a kekkei genkai was only allowed to marry someone within the same clan or someone without a kekkei genkai.  After the Fourth War, members of two equal standing clans were allowed to marry and have children as long as one integrated into the other’s clan. The Renge Clan was the first exception to this, but only because so few of each of their clans were left.  Technically, two kekkei genkai had been blended into one, so only a second was actually added. When Naruto and Hinata got married, there was some push back, but Hinata was technically leaving her clan to join theirs, so it was allowed, barely. Their children would only potentially inherit two kekkei genkai anyway.  Now, though, there was the factor of Sarutobi Konohamaru. He and Yoriko had taken it very slow in their relationship. Despite the fact that he didn’t posses any kekkei genkai, there was still a push to have them separated. All because he came from a substantially large and influential clan.

Apparently, the thought was that the major clans of Fire Nation’s past should not all be allowed to join into one, especially since most of their families produced Hokage.  It was starting to look like a monarchy. Konohamaru pointed out that three of the seven Hokage were Senju, one was Sarutobi, one was Namikaze, one was Uzumaki, and one was Hatake.  Of course, his argument was rebuffed when it was pointed out that Naruto was descended from Senju through his mother, and Minato was actually a Hatake and Naruto’s father. Thus, only two bloodlines had ever commanded the shinobi forces of Fire.

If Yoriko and Konohamaru stayed together as they were, nothing would be done about it.  If they married or had a child, there would be push to remove Naruto from office. It would end all potential for Konohamaru or Sarada to take the seat in the future.

Of course, the Jonin population at large didn’t care about all that.  They cared about the old way of voting the strongest, most loyal of their ranks into the office.  All in all, the council was backed down again.

Barely.

“I need a good spar after all that,” Kakashi mentioned to the room at large.  Obito was raiding the fridge for ice cream, but he didn’t miss the pointed suggestion.

“Nope, I’m out,” Obito proclaimed, shutting the freezer door, treat in hand.

“Why not?” Kakashi questioned, surprised.

“Sasuke got into a mood yesterday.  He damn near killed me.”

Sakura frowned, worried.  “What happened?”

“He opened up to Sarada about literally everything.  She ran away for a day. Naruto brought her home late last night.  It wasn’t until after he nearly took my head off and Sakura had to put my hyoid back together.  Part of it was laying in the grass.”

Kakashi shared a look with Sakura, eyes wide.  Normally, Sasuke and Naruto worked things out of their systems together, just like Kakashi and Obito did.  For Sasuke to spar with Obito…

Sasuke had a lot of secrets.  Kakashi knew that one of the deepest secrets he had was that he wasn’t supposed to have Sarada.  He wasn’t supposed to have a life any longer, not in Konoha at least. He feared telling Sarada about his past for a very long time, feared her rejection of him, feared that she wouldn’t want him as a father anymore.  He even feared she might pour that hatred of him onto herself the way Kakashi had done to himself when Sakumo died.

He was right to fear that, it seemed.  “I should go talk to Sarada-chan.”

“Yeah, right,” Obito rolled his eyes.  “Let’s see… she found out her father killed his brother and helped start an attempt to destroy life as we know it and ran away from him.  She found out I was a major player in that and stayed away from me. What about you, Kashi? You going to tell her about your hand in Rin’s chest?  Like that will make it any better?”

Kakashi shot to his feet.  One more comment like that and he would knock Obito out on the spot.  It had been almost a decade since they worked that bit out the rest of the way, or so he thought.

“Stop it!” Sakura stood between them, a hand ready to repel either man if they made a lunge for one another.  “Obito, you seriously need to let go of that! Kakashi, he has a point! Every one of us who fought in the Third or Fourth war have our hands dirty.  Even Rin-san! What we need to do is make sure Sarada-chan understands that all of it worked out to give her the life she has now, so that perhaps she will never have to kill anyone.  Sacrifices were made on all sides, especially by the Uchiha. Sarada needs to learn to forgive her father, to his face, for things that happened before she was born. It’s probably the only way Sasuke will ever finish healing.”

“Uh… I’m not sure exactly what is going on here, but she’s right, Kakashi,” another man entered the kitchen.  “It was the only way for me, when you forgave me.”

“Dad,” Kakashi looked to Sakumo for a brief second.  He wasn’t sure he could take his eyes off Obito just yet.

Obito raised his hands in surrender before returning to his sweet frozen confection carefully.  “Welcome home, Hatake-sama… I guess.”

“I can talk to her for you, Kakashi,” Sakumo suggested.

“It would be better if you talked to Sasuke,” Sakura corrected.  “Sarada needs to be sat down and given the whole story, not just her father’s part in it.”

“I thought you all agreed never to tell Sora, Sarada, Boruto, or Himawari anything about it.”

“It’s too late now,” Obito piped up again.  “Sarada will probably tell Boruto who will let it slip to Himawari who will go running to Sora for confirmation.  They should all be sat down and told the truth. Don’t you think they deserve to know why people talk about them like they do?  Or, do you really want them all to keep suffering in ignorance like Naruto did for years? Hell, even Naruto knew most of the truth by their age.”

“Do you plan on telling your child about it all?” Kakashi asked.  “Do you plan on having that talk with a kid who should never know a life even similar to Sarada’s?”

Obito hadn’t thought about that yet.  Rin wasn’t even showing yet. All he thought about was whether the child would be healthy, boy or girl, if Rin would be alright through the pregnancy and birth.  He was happy to see the smile on her face when she told him. He was happy she was keeping it. The actual terror of impending fatherhood hadn’t really hit him yet.

“Let us know when you do think about it.” Kakashi demanded.

“Yoriko doesn’t know much, either,” Sakura added.  “And, I don’t think anyone really explained things to Minato.  Not from yours and Sasuke’s points of view.”

“So… what?  Are me, Kakashi, and Sasuke really the only ones alive that have most of the truth in our heads?” Obito questioned her, truly curious.

“And both of me,” Sakura added.  “I saw a lot of it myself, and Sasuke showed us once, before we became two different people.”

* * *

“Sora-kun, what are you doing here?”

Sora didn’t avert his eyes from the scene below.  He saw four kids tied up, a circle of guards around them, and marched across the field, all of them fair haired while their captors were darker in color.  The youngest boy, one of the ones with silvery-white hair, fell to his knees. Strangely, one of the guards gently picked him up instead of hauling him up and shoving him forward like Sora would have expected.

“Nii-san, we have to do something for them.  This isn’t right,” Sora whispered.

Minato looked down on the group headed away from them.  He knew what was happening. “No. This needs to happen.  They will make it out of this.”

“You don’t know that!” Sora whispered harshly.  Even if he had raised his voice, the people below them would not hear.  They were too far away, and the wind blew into the opposite direction, sure to carry his voice away from their ears.  Still, it was highly possible that someone else might be near.

“Sora, do you know where we are?” Minato asked instead.

“Yeah, we’re forty-three kilometers from Konoha.”

Minato nodded.  “That’s correct.  Now, do you know when we are?”

“When?” Sora looked confused.  “I don’t understand.”

“Sora, I know you haven’t had any experience with it yourself, but this is the past.  My past. I’m down there, right now, with Yoriko, Jiraiya, and Kazuo. We are about to be attacked.  The Sarutobi and the Yamanaka, if I remember right. They don’t approve of the Daimyo using the Hatake and the Haruno to boost their wealth and success over all the others.”

“How did we-?” Sora questioned, looking around bewildered.

“I did it earlier.” Minato sighed.  “Look, there is a point to this.”

“What point would that be?” Sora demanded.

“We were taken because of our abilities, to serve the Daimyo,” Minato explained.

Sora’s attention was grabbed by the group again, just as a group of others came in from the South.  His hopes grew; the children would be saved! Sora watched as the people attacked those on horseback leading the children.  The kids were guarded tightly, but the soldiers quickly fell. For every one attacker who died, three more of the Daimyo’s soldiers hit the ground.  One of the Hatake boys was pierced through with a sword by those Sora thought to be their rescuers. The girl had her head smashed in. The blond boy was trapped beneath a horse, unconscious.  There was a second Hatake boy, cowering down in the panic who disappeared as if he’d never even been there.

“You lied to me, nii-san!” Sora cried out, fists balling up.  He wanted to go down there, go down and fight.

“No, I did not,” Minato put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place.  Sora started to lurch forward anyway, but Minato pulled them forward in time instead.  Disorientated, Sora turned to glare at him. “Look again.”

Lips tight, Sora did as he was told.  The bodies had rotted for a couple days, bloating in the heat.  The blond kid was moving them to a mass grave, one by one. Nobody was helping him.  Two other graves, each made for one person, were off to the side, a pile of rocks indicating their position for when gras regrew and hid the site.

“I buried them all,” Minato informed.  “And I left.”

“You said they would all be saved!” Sora protested, but the fight went out of him.

“And they will be,” Minato assured.  “I don’t know exactly when, but Mom will be here.  The point is, this has a lot to do with why you had ANBU following you all the time.  Our family has never been free. Even when the Haruno side stopped working with their chakra, even when the Hatake lost the ability to travel through time all together, they were still watched by those who remembered what we could do.  Aunt Rin was supposed to marry Kakashi, not Mom. Mom wasn’t born yet, but because the Daimyo wanted to take a shot at making time travel work again, in his favor… Well, they got what they wanted, just not how they expected. Now that there are so many of us, we are again fully enslaved.  Naruto, Boruto, Sarada, Aunt Sakura, they don’t realize it yet. Mom, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sakumo, and me… We’re trying to fight it without it coming to a choice between treason or signing you kids over.”

“But, I don’t have the ability!”

“Mom didn’t think she did, either.  Kakashi still hasn’t really shown any.  Yet, here we all are. And, you’re forgetting our cousins and my grandkids.  One of your age mates has the Sharingan, another is on the way that might. Naruto’s children may gain the Byakugan.  It’s a mess. Our whole clan is a mess right now, and it’s barely started out. Already, we’ve broken long standing rules of what it means to be a clan, messed with time, revived dead kekkei genkai, and been selfish as possible.  It’s a wonder they allowed Kakashi to continue as Hokage. It’ll be a miracle if they allow Naruto to do it next. They are our only real assets politically.”

“So, disband the Renge!” Sora suggested.  “Send me to the Yamanaka with Grandma’s family!  Let the Uchiha deal with their own! Let Naruto’s kids be known as Hyuuga!”

Minato sighed.  “We have worked too hard to do that.  It would only make the power balance shift even more out of our favor.  What is to stop Hiashi-san from selling Boruto out if he gains our abilities instead of his mother’s?  What if Sarada-chan turns on Konoha like her father and Obito did? What if you are refused the right to learn the Yamanaka clan techniques?”

“I hate being under suspicion all the time for something I didn’t do!”

“That’s how it went with the Uchiha when Kakashi was young.  It’s what drove the clan leader to attempt a coup de ta. It’s what drove his eldest son to murder almost the whole clan.  Sora-kun, you have to try for me, for our parents, cousins, everyone in our family. I don’t want to see our people cut down again.  What you saw here is only a fraction of what happened over all during these few years.”

“Grandpa Kazuo said-”

“Forget him,” Minato cut him off, showing a bit more anger than he intended.  “That old man has tried to change what happened to the Hatake and Haruno of this time over and over again.  No matter what he does, this still happens. Their numbers always dwindle to disease and famine, and the Daimyo always enslaves them.  What we need to fight for is our future, not our past.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” Sora challenged.  “I just want a normal life!”


	5. Chapter 5

Councilwoman Miko looked over the two ANBU before her.  “You know what is expected of you. See that it happens.”

“Yes!” The two men chorused, then flashed away to the outside of the Hokage Tower.

The slimmer of the two drew his short sword, squaring off against his elder carefully.

“What the hell are you doing, kohai?”  The brunet man was shocked.

“Senpai, I know that you will find yourself unable to carry out these orders.  You will be the first.”

“The only orders I follow come from the Hokage.” The elder subtly moved into a short stance, for all intents and purposes looking casual.  “That woman is not permitted to command us like that. We have to tell Nanadaime-”

“She is right about the threat they present to Konoha, to all.  It cannot be allowed.”

“After everything they have done for you, you would do this?  What will your wife think when she finds out? What about your son?  Will he forgive you?”

“They will not know it was me.”

“Don’t make me kill you.”  It came out as more of an order than a plea.  “Don’t be the next Uchiha Itachi.”

“Then we are in agreement?” The black haired man cocked his head.  “Miko-san must be eliminated?”

The brunet was taken back a moment, but he did not step back or relax his stance in the least.  “No. She must be removed from power.”

“As I said.  They are a threat, but only to those who would upset the balance of peace.  The question is whether we tell Naruto before or after we kill her.” The younger man put away his weapon, relaxing.

“Technically, we shouldn’t kill her.  But… we can’t risk another Danzo either.”

“You two really shouldn’t talk about this stuff out in the open,” another ANBU commented, walking up to them.  “Sure, you’re off on the back side of the building and all, but there are still ears here. I thought I taught you better than that, kohai.”

“Senpai,” the brunet bowed slightly, “there was a misunderstanding.  We are clear in our course of action now. It was an error.”

“An error that many others would attempt to kill even the two of you over,” the white haired ANBU man commented.  “Well… How many others does she have under her control? Report.”

“As you said, senpai… there are possibly more ears here.”  The brunet made his surveillance of the area obvious. “Perhaps, your office would be more appropriate.”

“Which one?” the white haired man questioned, a hint of humour shining through.

“Your old one,” the brunet looked up to the second to the top floor of the Hokage Tower.

“Home might be better…  He’s coming over for dinner tonight.  You two are invited. Bring a gift.”

“Senpai?”

“It’s my first born’s birthday.  Bring two gifts.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hatake Sakura, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakumo, Jiraiya, Minato, Yamato, and Sai all packed into the three tatami room.  Everyone else was busy playing games, playing games, or otherwise being sociable downstairs. Their absence would be noticed quickly, and it would worry the remaining adults.  However, this meeting was meant for the first in line to be affected by Councilwoman Miko’s decision, and those tasked with carrying it out.

“Say that again,” Sakumo spoke first.  “What do you mean another Danzo? What did I miss?”

“Danzo,” Jiraiya practically spat out the name, “was my sensei’s team mate.  He became a council member when Hiruzen-sensei became Hokage. He remained on the council through Minato’s time, all the way up until…”

“Until he became acting Hokage while Tsunade-sama was nearly dead and I was too far away to take the position,” Kakashi clarified.  “The point is, he ran ROOT. Sai and Tenzou were a part of it. I almost was. It was a secret sub section of ANBU formed near the time of your death.  They did things…”

“We did things the Saindaime would not send Konoha’s ANBU to do,” Sai finished for him.  “That included assassinations of Fire’s own nobles and others in similar positions of power.”

“He was responsible, in a major part, for the near-genocide of the Uchiha,” Kakashi continued.  “Miko-san has filled that gap without our knowledge. Sai and Tenzou have been working under her, gathering information and evidence for three years now.  I knew of it, but didn’t tell Naruto just yet. Now, she’s targeted us. Tenzou, Sai, what are her orders, exactly?”

Sai stood, “Mass poisoning of your family on Sora’s birthday in eight months.  Since that will not work on the Sakuras and Rin, we are to kill them while they are helping the rest, then finish off anyone they helped enough to survive with the exception of Sora, Himawari, and Rin’s child who should be born by then.”

“She means to include Kushina-san, Sasuke-san and Obito-san in this,” Tenzou added.  “Konohamaru-san if possible. Other casualties would happen, and it would be considered acceptable losses based on the fact that coming to Sora’s party would be a show of support for the Renge Clan.  Minato’s and Yoriko’s celebration was too soon to properly plan for. We were chosen based on our ability to freely come and go at all of your homes.”

“What makes you think she won’t suspect the two of you for betraying her?” Sakura questioned.  “Clearly, she doesn’t use the same sealing technique he did.”

“But she does use the threat of having others kill us,” Sai smiled.  “Unfortunately for her, the two assigned to pressure us are also friends.  To be honest, most of the operatives she has are truly allied to you whether or not they support the Uchiha and Uzumaki.”

“Who are they?”

“Shiranui Genma and Umino Iruka.”

“Since when are they S-class?” Naruto finally asked a question.

“Are you ever going to look through the personnel files I told you needed extra attention?” Kakashi shot back at him.  “Not everyone is as they appear. Haven’t you noticed that yet? I pointed out several files specifically.”

“Those are really thick files!” Naruto complained.  “I’ve got a lot to do besides read up on people I already know!”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sora stood with his cousin, great nephew, and their classmates.  He was occasionally included in group testing despite the fact that he no longer took his lessons at the academy.  There was no major testing happening today, and everyone looked just as confused as he did. After a while, Shino-sensei and Iruka-sensei came into the auditorium.

“Congratulations, class,” Iruka smiled at them.  “Your year has done so well that you will be taking the survival test early.  You will not be going home to gather any supplies. We will leave right away. Your parents have been notified.”

Sora knew he was lying.  If that were true, his mother, and the parents of all the others, would have sent them with extra clothes and some travel food at least.  Now he understood why his brother had suggested dressing for a mission today, minus the pack. It wasn’t unheard of for a shinobi to be ready to run at all times, including promised downtime.

Shino-sensei looked a bit upset and surprised.  Sora saw the unspoken conversation that passed between the two adults.  It wasn’t entirely friendly. Shino seemed uncertain, questioning. Iruka needed him to follow his lead.

The tension flowed through the class.  Sora started to back away, but Iruka caught him by the arm.

“Your nephew was less conspicuous wearing bright orange in the forest.” Iruka stepped beside him.  “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Home,” Sora shrugged.  “I don’t go to the academy any more, remember?  You expelled me.”

“It’s not a full expulsion,” Iruka reminded him.  “Your brother, father, and Genma-san are all busy, so this is the perfect activity for you.”

“My sister said she was going to teach me more medical-jutsu while they’re working.”

“You need to work on your lying skills, too.  She’s busy as well.”

“Busy planning her wedding, you mean.” Sora crossed his arms, staring up at the scarred principal.  “Do you know how demanding the Sarutobi have been? She wants a simple wedding with just close family and friends, but they’re demanding a prominent temple and big party after.  And trying to get Mirai into a tiny kimono is nearly impossible. She only behaves if she can play with my hair.”

“You’re coming with us.  If Sarada-chan and Boruto-kun can get out of your family problems for the week, so can you.”

“Sora,” Inojin walked up, a scowl he reserved just for the pink haired boy in place, “do as sensei says.  He has a reason for this.”

“Something you know that I don’t?” Sora questioned, matching the other boy’s frown.

“Yeah.” Inojin moved closer, getting quiet and checking over his shoulder to be sure everyone else was occupied with each other.  “You’d know if you were any good at gathering intelligence. Idiot. You sure you’re related to me?”

“Trust me, I’d rather not be.”

Iruka wavet to Shino and told him to take Sora back to the main group.  He needed to have a private word with Inojin. Scowling, Sora went with the other teacher.  Inojin put on his best innocent face. It wasn’t working on Iruka.

“What do you know?” Iruka looked down at the blond boy.

“Like I’d tell you my parents’ business.” Inojin flipped moods again.  “Just make sure Sora doesn’t come back early. I’d watch Boruto and Sarada, too.”

Iruka’s frown deepened.  “You’ve been eavesdropping on your parents.”

“Of course I have.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Kushina didn’t know what was going on, but she sure was ready to find out.  Ever since she and Minato were brought back to life, then to the future, Minato had been careful to keep her out of his family’s problems.  She could usually get information out of their son, but even Naruto was being tight lipped.

As much as she hated this, she was walking up to the front door of Nohara Rin’s home.  If her husband’s aunt didn’t know what was going on, maybe Obito did. Her next option would be to see Sasuke.  No matter what, she was going to have to ask an Uchiha.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

Kushina looked to her right up the street.  Sasuke was already on his way, it seemed. “Looking for Rin.”

“Me, too.”

“Not here to conspire with your cousin?” Kushina asked, eyeing him.

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks.  Naruto would never forgive him if he got into a fight with his mother.  Considering his own experience with Uzumaki, Sasuke was more scared of what his wife would do when he came home bloody.

“If it means finding out what’s going on with your husband’s family, yes,” Sasuke said carefully.  “Naruto’s never been able to keep anything from me for this long before.”

“I know what you are, Uchiha.  You’re just like Danzo. Trying to run things behind my son’s back!  How long until you try the same shit, huh?”

“You don’t understand.  I don’t intend to usurp the position of Hokage.  I have equal responsibility already. It is my mission to protect your son as much as he protects me.”  Sasuke sighed, putting on a front of being cool and relaxed. “That’s what friends do. That’s what brothers do.”

“Brothers don’t tear each other’s body parts off trying to kill each other.”  Kushina pointedly looked to where Sasuke’s left arm should have been.

“You’d be surprised.” Sasuke started for the gate again.  “You going to come with me and see what they know, or not?”

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”

Both of them turned around to see Obito and Rin coming up behind them, a few grocery bags in each hand.  Both were smiling at first, but the animosity between Sasuke and Kushina wiped the look off their faces.

“Something tells me we need to talk inside,” Obito sighed.  “Come on.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Naruto called out for the next person to enter the office, filing away a few things in a drawer for later.  When he looked up, he had to do a double take. His mother, Sasuke, Obito, and Rin were standing before him.  Kushina keeping her distance to the left, Sasuke to the right, neither fully letting the others out of their sight.  This half-circle formation was common when they ended up near one another. Naruto wasn’t sure if they would ever trust one another.

“H..hey, guys.  What’s up?” Naruto smiled nervously.

“You’re hiding something big,” Obito pointed right at him.

“Uh…” Naruto looked a bit confused.  “I’m hiding lots of things. Part of the job.”

“No, you’re even hiding it from Sasuke.” Obito countered, walking up and putting his hands on the desk with a little force.

“Oh, THAT secret, yeah.  So what if I am?”

The challenge wasn’t expected by any of them.

“Just trust me on this.  Leave it alone. If things go right, you won’t have to worry about it at all.”

“And if things go wrong?” Kushina demanded, letting Sasuke out of her sight for a moment.  Naruto was surprised and pleased… and scared. She was definitely pissed. “Sandaime kept things from Minato, and it ended up getting us killed!  Don’t you think your so-called ‘Shadow Hokage’ should know at least?”

“Danzo knowing more than the Sandaime is what got you killed, Mom,” Naruto stood up, mirroring Obito’s position.  “If this happens, only one person might die, and Konoha won’t be damaged. We’re protecting all of you!”

“We…” Sasuke echoed, looking Naruto dead in the eye.  “Naruto, we are your family, too. Aren’t we? I can understand cutting Obito and I out of it, but your aunt and mother, too?  WE deserve to know what is going on.”

“I’ll tell you everything once it’s taken care of, Teme,” Naruto ground out.  “Look… I really, really want to tell all of you what’s going on, but Kaka-sensei and Dad made me promise not to.  And, honestly, after everything all of you went through because of Danzo, I’m not going to tell you about her.”

Sasuke fought back a little smirk.  “Her?”

“Oh shit,” Naruto collapsed back into his seat.  “No. Enough. Get out. Go pester someone else. I’ve got an appointment with Iruka-sensei in-” he looked at the clock “five minutes ago.  Where is he? Hey, Shikamaru!”

“What?” Shikamaru poked his head in.

“Where’s Iruka-sensei?”


	6. Chapter 6

Yoriko leaned back into Konohamaru, enjoying the view over the lake as much as his warm arms wrapping around her.  He pulled her back to lean against the tree behind him. She fumbled a bit, and her hot chocolate spilled onto her lap.

“Ow!” Yoriko hissed, throwing an elbow into Konohamaru’s chest instead.

“Shit!” Konohamaru cursed, grabbing at the new sore spot.  “I’m sorry!”

“My pants are ruined!” Yoriko whined.

“It’s just a pair of pants.  How’s your leg?” Konohamaru jumped up with her, worried.

“It’s fine,” Yoriko rolled her eyes, quickly pressing her hand to the mild burn and healing it.

“Hey, check it out.” Konohamaru looked past her to a little farther along the lake shore.  “The kids are taking off early this year.”

“What do you mean?” Yoriko looked to where Iruka, Shino, and several young teens were walking along.  “Sora-kun didn’t tell me anything about this! Hey, ototou!”

“Nee-san,” Sora looked relieved to see his elder sister running up to them.  “Get me out of this, please? Iruka-sensei thinks I need to take some stupid survival test as if Nii-san hasn’t already made me do it…”

“It wasn’t official, brat,” Iruka reminded, putting his hand on Sora’s shoulder.  “Hello, Yoriko-san. Yes, I’m kidnapping your sister, brother, and nephew for a week, along with all the rest of the class.”

“Why?” Yoriko was a bit confused.  “Sora-kun didn’t say anything about a field trip.  He’s always liked going on them.”

“Could have fooled me,” Iruka smiled.  “This was originally planned to happen in two months, but since the class is doing so well, we decided to do it in colder temperatures and give them a challenge.  No notice just to make it that much harder.”

“That’s unusual, even for a good class,” Konohamaru pointed out.  Of course, like Shino, he noticed something was off with Iruka’s smile.  It wasn’t entirely genuine. “Sensei, shouldn’t there be more than just you and Shino-san with them?”

“That’s why we came here, looking for the two of you!”  Iruka handed over a paper to each of them. “I’ve gotten special permission to include two non-sensei this year.  All the other classes will be taking their assigned rotation in Spring like usual, so the other sensei are all too busy.”

Yoriko looked over the instructions Iruka handed her.  “What about supplies? I don’t have anything-”

“None of us do!” Sarada grouched.  “It’s not right!”

“Sensei,” Konohamaru set a low level glare at the man.  “Naruto-sama would have called us and told us about this earlier.”

“A word, Konohamaru?” Iruka glanced off to the side, towards the class.  “There are special instructions as well, just for you.”

Konohamaru understood.  “I’ll be back, Yoriko-chan.”

“Shino-sensei, Yoriko-san, please continue leading the class to the forest without us.  We will catch up soon.” Iruka waved them on, then lead the way up a different trail a bit.

The fact that Iruka turned his back put Konohamaru into a slightly easier state.  Iruka was trusting him implicitly. Perhaps this was really what he said. Maybe the lack of a genuine expression was due to personal issues.

When Iruka stopped, Konohamaru was surprised to see what the man did next.  A few quick hand signs, and a bubble of silence fell over them. It was a technique he had only ever seen done by ANBU, two of them.  It wasn’t a difficult jutsu to use, per se. It was, however, difficult to maintain for long. The silence bubble was developed by ANBU for ANBU.  They didn’t teach it to anyone else. Konohamaru had taken a shot at it a few times, but never quite got it right.

Again, he was uneasy.

Maybe Iruka had turned his back because he still didn’t feel Konohamaru was a threat.  Or, maybe it was something simple like Kakashi-sama teaching it to him in secret. Just for the purposes of chewing out Boruto without the whole school hearing it.

“I was given one more special permission by Nanadaime-sama,” Iruka sighed.  “More of an order to break secrecy on a few things best kept in ANBU hands alone.”

“Then why do you know about it?” Konohamaru did his best not to look or sound tense.  He knew he wasn’t fooling his old sensei one bit.

“Because I’ve been recalled to ANBU,” Iruka answered, looking at the ground between them.  “I wasn’t always a Chunin. I certainly have spent most of my career as a teacher, though. It was my decision to get out.”

“So, what’s really going on?” Konohamaru filed that information away for later.  There had to be a reason Iruka was revealing this, and it certainly wasn’t for small talk.  An ANBU revealing himself like this was never taken lightly. Konohamaru knew who many of the ANBU were outside of the uniform, but even this was news to him.

“Councilwoman Miko has decided to make her own version of ROOT.”  Iruka got straight to the point. “She’s sloppy compared to Danzo.  Your girlfriend’s family is the target right now. Myself and another were supposed to see to it that two others managed to poison, then murder the whole family, yourself and the Uchiha included.”

Konohamaru’s fists clenched by his sides.  “So, then why are you doing this stunt? To get out of it?”

“Not at all,” Iruka’s false smile returned.  “I really am proud of this class and the progress they’ve made.  I really did intend to send them out early in the same way. If, by chance, Shino and most of the class return without Boruto, Sarada, Sora, Yoriko, and you, due to unfortunate circumstances, Miko-san will have an earlier opportunity to target the rest of their family.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Konohamaru asked, wary.  “If you’re going to find a way to take us all out on this test, why would you tell me?”

“Because I’m going to need your help to make it look believable to Shino-san and the other kids without revealing it to the other targets.  Face it, if your girlfriend knew what was going on, what do you think she’d do?” Iruka stepped forward and grabbed him by his shirt. “Prove your loyalty to Naruto with this.”

“How is helping you to kill them going to prove my loyalty to Naruto-sama?”  Konohamaru didn’t give Iruka a second to react, launching full force at him with Rasengan.

Iruka dodged, raising a hand to smack Konohamaru on the back of the head.  Konohamaru spun around, surprised. He knew Iruka could move, but not that fast.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Hey, check it out.”  Kawaki elbowed Boruto.  “Looks like your precious Konohamaru-san got beat up.”

“Nobody beats up Kono-” Boruto started to protest, but then he got a look at the man.

Iruka-sensei had a couple bruises of his own, but Konohamaru looked like he’d run face first into bricks edged with razor blades.  Iruka was holding him up. Yoriko was quick to come to his aid. The two men shared a look of understanding before Iruka let him down to the ground and into Yoriko’s care.

Sora looked at Iruka carefully, noting a slight limp, a bruised cheek, burnt finger tips.  He was missing a kunai as well. Konohamaru’s wounds weren’t really all that bad. It was the number of them that took their toll.

“When the time comes,” Inojin spoke to him lowly.  “Help me with Boruto.”

“Help you do what?” Sora didn’t like the possible implications.

“Don’t let him kick me out.  Also, play dead while you’re at it.”

“What are you planning on doing, exactly?” Sora squared up across from his cousin.  He didn’t really like Boruto much, but he always liked Inojin less.

“Look, you’ll be told afterwards.” Inojin sighed, looking over to where Boruto was throwing a fit over Konohamaru’s minor wounds.  “What I need from you is to help me body swap with Boruto, then knock my body unconscious and lay still as if you’re down, too. I don’t know when it will happen, but not until we get out there for sure.”

“What are you two doing over here being all secretive, hmm?” Chouchou butted in, pushing a bag of chips in Inojin’s hands and a box of strawberry pocky at Sora.  “Might as well eat what we can now, right? Good thing for you two I slipped off and bought snacks on the way out of town, right? I bought something that reminded me of each of you!”

“Ah, thanks, Akimichi-san,” Sora blushed a little.  He wasn’t used to this. Sure, a few of the girls actually knew he was a guy, but most of them, even other guys, automatically assumed he was just a butch girl all because of his short, candy colored hair.  This was, also, the first time she had ever been nice to him. His expression soured when Inojin chuckled a little. Oh. Right. Pink confections. Not anything that actually reminded her of his personality.  “Hey, what are you trying to say, bitch?”

“Watch your mouth!” Konohamaru barked at him.  “Who taught you to speak like that, anyway?”

Normally, Sora was a very composed with his language.  Chouchou and Inojin, though, almost always made him blurt out all the nasty words Obito and Genma had taught him.

“How DARE you talk to a lady like that!” Chouchou confronted as if Konohamaru hadn’t said anything already.

“Ah, shit, it’s too soon,” Iruka muttered to himself.  “But who am I to pass up an opportunity. Sakura-chan, I hope you’re here.”

The fight was on.  Inojin rushed at Sora.  Boruto stepped up to defend Sora.  Sarada got involved, yelling at Chouchou that even if they were best friends, she shouldn’t be teasing Sora like that.  Yoriko stepped in between them all. Iruka tried to jerk her out of the ring of fighting kids, and Konohamaru stepped in his way.  Konohamaru and Iruka made a show of getting into a big fight over it, conveniently disabling Yoriko in the process. Most of the group stood back in awe of the fight between the two grown men.  Shino tried to step in with his insects and separate them, but they used that opportunity to redirect some of the insects to Sora, Boruto, and Sarada. Two of them dropped unconscious, but Boruto was still kicking and yelling at both Iruka and Konohamaru for their idiotic behavior getting others hurt.  Now, without Sora’s help as he’d hoped, Inojin stepped in and used what he remembered of his mother’s training to invade Boruto’s mind and make him still long enough for Chouchou to knock him out. Konohamaru improvised a bit more, then, “accidentally” hitting Inojin in the temple with an elbow while pressing a charged Rasengan towards Iruka.

Since he already knew Iruka could dodge it, there was no reason not to use it.  He’d have to to make this look as real as possible. Iruka spun to the side, taking Konohamaru’s right wrist into his left hand, then coming around with a poisoned kunai to his throat.  He had already secretly pegged Boruto, Sarada, Sora, and Yoriko with tiny needles with the same poison. Inojin, he would leave alone. That kid would stay down willingly.

Konohamaru wasn’t too slow to block the attack.  He blocked it, but was cut on the hand anyway, poison seeping in.  His defenses became sluggish. His attacks were unaided by chakra a moment later.  Iruka got in two more strikes before Konohamaru dropped.

The rest of the kids had already taken off.  Iruka had heard some of them scream and run. Some backed off slowly before going.  A few like Iwabe and Mitsuki refused, offering instead to stand by Shino’s side in this.  That was a problem.

Two ANBU dropped down facing Iruka, their backs to Shino and the two by his side.  One man, and one woman. This was not the plan. Not at all. Iruka was screwed.

“Get out of here, Aburame-san.  Take the kids with you.” The smaller, female ANBU commanded.  “This isn’t Iruka-sensei. Something is wrong.”

“I can’t just leave things like this!” Shino protested.

“You have to.  Go tell Naruto now!”

“Iwabe, Mitsuki, do as she says.  I’m staying here.”

“Then who will protect them against any other attacks?” The male ANBU reminded.  “We know there were two of them. Alert everyone on your way to the Hokage Tower.  Now get out of here; he’s beyond your level!”

Iruka knew he didn’t have much choice now.  Whether or not these two knew what was actually going on, he’d have to fight them.  So he did. He went straight for the woman.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Iruka woke up with a throbbing headache.  The first words out of his mouth were, “Well… there goes my career as a teacher.”

“Not when all of this is sorted out, Sensei.” A comforting hand pressed to his temple gently, a healing hand.

Iruka looked up to see Uchiha Sakura dressed in ANBU gear, cloak and mask removed.  Behind her, he could see Hatake Sakumo helping Inojin to his feet. Yoriko had a death grip on her little brother, still sitting on the ground.  Konohamaru glanced up at him, taking a split second from explaining things to Sarada and Boruto. Himawari was here, too, sticking close to her elder brother’s side.

“You acted a bit earlier than planned,” Sakura reminded him.  “I hope we got the bodies good enough to fool anyone not in the loop.”

“Where did you get that ANBU mask?” Iruka asked, curious.  “I feel like I should recognize it.”

“Itachi.” Her one word answer surprised him.  She clarified, “Sasuke found it a few years ago, in an old Akatsuki base along with a few other things his brother left behind.  Turns out, it fits me well. Sakumo-san and I decided to disguise ourselves for this, so he’s wearing Kakashi-sensei’s.”

“I told you where mine was,” Iruka reminded.

“Again, you started early.  I didn’t have time to break into your apartment.  This was on hand.”

“But, I need mine for the second part of this.”

“Which is why Hinata-san is on her way to get it now.” Sakura pressed a flask into his hand.  “Here, this will flush out the rest from your system. You weren’t supposed to stab yourself!”

“I wasn’t sure if that was Kakashi or Sakumo-san.” Iruka looked over to Sakumo again.  “Not interested in getting electrocuted either way.”

Sakura shared a small, derisive laugh with him.

“We’re coming with you, Mamma.”  Sarada stepped up to them, determination shining in her eyes.

“You are doing no such thing,” Sakura turned around, clearly upset by the thought.  “Our plan doesn’t allow for any extras. Hinata-san and Rin-san will be here shortly.  You are to stay here with them while Sakumo-san and Iruka-sensei and I deal with this with the others.  Not unless you can prove to me that you’ve somehow gotten to be on par with Jonin overnight.”

Sarada quieted down.

“Sarada-chan, you kids are our future.  If the enemy has enough loyal to them, we may not get through this.  You’ll have to leave Fire as missing-nin. You’ll be on the run, but you’ll be alive.  I expect you to get stronger every day no matter how this goes.”

“But, what, exactly, is going on?” Sarada demanded.  “All Konohamaru-sensei said was that this was planned to get us all out of the way for something big going on in Konoha.  It’s like he doesn’t know the details at all! I know when he’s lying to us, and he really doesn’t!”

“I know,” Sakura reached out to take her daughter’s hands in hers.  “We didn’t want him to get caught up in any of this until tomorrow. But, since things turned out the way they did, we have to do this now.”

“But what about Inojin?  He’s not-”

“He got himself mixed up in this,” Iruka butted in.  “He overheard his father.”

“What does Sai-san have to do with this?”

“He was supposed to kill you for real,” Iruka explained morosely.  “Sorry about putting you out like that, by the way.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sakura hadn’t healed him all the way on purpose.  Actually, she hit him a few more times to make it look good, as if Konohamaru had really meant it.  Councilwoman Miko would not be looking too closely at the size of the marks on Iruka when he stumbled in.  As a matter of fact, it seemed he wasn’t the only one given this treatment.

Sai was bleeding pretty good from a stab to the hip.  Genma had blood everywhere. Yamato clutched what looked like… were those really eyes?  For a moment, Iruka stopped moving towards the office to look him over.

“Where did you get those?”

“Tell you later.  I heard about your stunt with the class.  Good job.”

“If you mean good job at ruining my own life, yes, indeed,” Iruka sighed, starting to follow Sai and Genma down the hall.

Of course, that’s when things came crashing down.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke didn’t like being kept in the dark one bit.  He could see Obito felt about the same, standing behind the desk on the other side of Naruto.  The tension wasn’t only coming from them, though, as one after the other, Naruto dealt with his scheduled appointments.  Naruto’s leg was tapping faster as time went on. When Shino, Mitsuki, and Iwabe came crashing through the door, all three of them nearly hit the ceiling.

“What the hell, Shino!” Naruto yelled at him.  “What are you doing here?”

“Iruka-sensei has gone insane!” Shino responded just as loudly.  “He’s attacking students!”

“Where is he?” Sasuke demanded, starting for the door.

“Sasuke, stay!” Naruto called him back.

“Our children are probably with him!” Sasuke shot back.

“That’s the plan.”

“What?” Obito’s voice cracked, half yell, half shriek.

“Iwabe, lock the door.” Naruto pointed to the door, then gestured to everybody in the room.  “Sit down. We’ve got a few minutes.”

Nobody moved a muscle.  Instead, most of them looked at him like he’d grown another head.

“Okay, fine, we’ll do this standing.” Naruto rolled his eyes.  “Pretty soon, there will be at least four ANBU breaking in here to attack me.  They might play it like they’re delivering the same news you just did, like they’re trying to do the right thing.  But, I promise you, they’re here to try to kill me. When Sasuke, Obito-san, and I engage them, Shino, you need to get the kids out of here.  Sakumo-san and Jiraiya-sensei are outside right now, ready to jump in.”

“What about Iru-”

“He’s on our side,” Naruto cut him off.  “He didn’t actually harm them.”

“Naruto-sama,” Shino cut in again.  “I’ve never seen him move like that before.  It’s like he isn’t himself at all. It could be an imposter.”

“Would you just shut up and trust me on-”

The window exploded.

“Get them out, Shino!” Naruto turned around, creating five clones simultaneously.

Three of his clones fell to the attackers right away.  Everything was moving way too fast. None of this was supposed to happen just yet.  He was glad everyone in on this had decided to set up the moment Iruka was taking the class out of town.  Plans could always get thrown away in an instant. In this case, though, a lot of it could remain the same.  Kakashi and Sakura came up with three alternate plans just in case something like this happened. Keeping several of them in the dark might not have been the best idea, but it was the only way to make things believable on the whole.

Sasuke was doing his damndest not to destroy the office while wielding his sword against the short sword of his opponent.  Tight quarters weren’t the best for this, but it was by instinct that he drew the long weapon first. Obito looked like he was in the same struggle not to burn the whole building to the ground.  A book shelf was already smoldering.

“Oh, hell with it, we can rebuild!” Naruto yelled at them, going ahead and forming an Oodama Rasengan.  “Where the hell is our backup?”

Outside, Sakumo and Jiraiya had a bit of a different issue.  Eight ANBU surrounded them. Four had gone inside, and eight more came for them.  Sakumo finally started channeling chakra into his tanto when his back hit Jiraiya’s.  Jiraiya was smiling now, gathering strength from Sage Mode, a kunai in each hand.

“Hey, old man, already need back up?” Jiraiya teased him.

“You wish, gramps,” Sakumo jibed back.

The pair pushed off of one another, unsatisfied with being on defense.  Back in the old days, Sakumo had a few years on Jiraiya. Their hair color had people taunting them both equally.  So they did it to each other as well, usually right before challenging one another to a drinking contest.

Age may have taken its toll on Jiraiya’s looks, but not on his stamina and precision.  He swore it didn’t. Yet, the two guys he went for were getting back up on their feet a second time, unharmed as far as he could tell.  He knew damn well that he’d plunged his weapon into the taller one’s heart.

“Hey, Sakumo, I’ve got a problem here,” Jiraiya called out.

“The kind where the enemy just won’t die?” Sakumo asked in return, finding himself thrown into the wall right after.

“Exactly,” Jiraiya landed in front of him, protective.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Minato’s pacing was about to drive Kushina up a wall.  Pacing and fidgeting was supposed to be her job, not his.  On his fifty-fourth turn, she jumped up and put her arms around him, stopping the movement, but scaring the hell out of him, too.  He shoved her back, but she held on.

“What is going on?” Kushina meant to symbolically stomp her foot, instead managing to smash his toes with her heel.

Minato jerked forward, starting to hop on one leg, but his knee came up into her crotch and he bashed his forehead against hers, sending them both to the floor in pain.  “Damn it, Kushina!”

“Damn me?  Damn you and your pacing!” Kushina kicked at him.  “Damn you and your secrets! Just tell me what the fuck is going on already!”

“Another damn coup, that’s what!” Minato blurted out. 

She didn’t have time to question him any further.  The back door opened up and three ANBU came rushing in, already in combat.  The fourth one in did his best to shove the door shut on their pursuers. Someone else came in the front door just as the back one burst into splinters, a line of other ANBU pouring inside the house.

“What the hell?” Kushina yelled, throwing the first object she could get her hands on-one of Yoriko’s medical textbooks-at the face of one of the last ANBU to enter.

The first four through the back door discarded their hoods and white masks along with the woman who came in the front.  Kakashi, Sakura, Yamato, Sai, and Genma all had formed a wall around Minato and Kushina where they still lay on the floor from harming one another accidentally.

“So, yeah, this is what I was worried about,” Minato grimaced at her, getting back up to his feet before helping her up.  “Bunch of idiots thinking they can outsmart us!”

“Yondaime-sama, we have a major problem,” Genma reported in the temporary stalemate.  “They don’t die.”

“Say that again?” Minato’s eyes widened.  The ten or so ANBU that followed them inside rushed again.  Minato didn’t waste a moment. He shared a look with his mother and got to work.  “Time to go!”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sora was excited when he caught sight of his father limping up the rocky pathway to the cave he and the others had been hiding out in for most of the day.  He got up and rushed over, his movement alerting the others to the arrival.

“Dad, what happened?” Sora questioned, stopping short when he saw the state of everyone arriving with Kakashi.

“Everybody up quick.  Where’s Naruto, Sasuke, Obito, Jiraiya, and Dad?” Kakashi brushed past his son, sparing him a pat on the head as he made his way to Uchiha Sakura.

“You didn’t go there first?” She asked, surprised.

“We couldn’t get that way,” Hatake Sakura answered, devolving into a fit of coughing.  She’d been more worried about the burns Yamato had on his arm and chest than the smoke she was breathing in while healing him on the run.  “The tower collapsed.”

“Wait, what?” Boruto was right up to them in a flash.

Yoriko was right by her mother’s side, taking her away from Yamato to sit down.

“We fell back to the park where Kakashi and Sakura were,” Genma continued.  “We figured… since they weren’t there, maybe they would be with Yondaime-sama.  But they weren’t there either, so this was the last place to check.”

“There wasn’t anyone there to get them out?” Uchiha Sakura demanded.

“Sakumo-san and Jiraiya-sensei were supposed to be their backup,” Minato reminded.  “They shouldn’t have any issue escaping-”

“We’re here.” Naruto announced himself and the rest, coming up from the opposite side of Kakashi’s group.  He then promptly collapsed, caught by Jiraiya.

“I take it this means you didn’t have any luck, either,” Sakumo asked Kakashi, coming to stand beside him.  “Unkillables?”

“That definitely wasn’t a medic-nin’s techniques,” Hatake Sakura huffed.  “We have to go.”

“Go where?” Obito demanded.  “We’ve got kids with us. I can promise most of them can’t make it as missing-nin.”

“It’s not a matter of where, but when at this point,” Minato sighed, sitting down on the ground.  “I can’t do it right now, though. It takes more than I have.”

Traveling through time was a special gift only so many of the Hatake and Haruno possessed.  As things stood, only Minato and Yoriko were capable of freely traveling back and forth to any point.  The farther in time, the more of their special chakra it took. Taking others along added an extra toll.  There were twenty people who needed to move out right away. Two of them could go both directions in time.  One that could only move forward. One that could only move back. The rest had either never learned or were incapable of doing it on their own.  Four people to move twenty was a difficult proposition to do all at once. Oh, and that wasn’t counting the fact that one of them was pregnant. That would make it all the more problematic.  Then, add on the fact that there were still Haruno Kizashi somewhere in Fire Country taking a trip with his wife… None of them really knew.

“Fuck!” Obito cursed harshly under his breath.  He had loved, hated, feared, and protected each of them in some way over the course of his life.  Right now, he was more worried about the kids. Then his eyes landed on his girlfriend, her belly swollen with his child.  For the second time in his life, he felt pure terror. “Come on, guys, there has to be something we can do. You can’t honestly be asking everybody to go on the run like this.  They’re going to die if we do!”

“They’re going to die if we don’t run,” Sasuke pointed out.  “We were both about their age when we left. They have our experience to learn from.”

“Oh, so my son doesn’t exist?” Obito turned on him.

“Don’t you two dare start fighting again,” Naruto pushed them apart.  “Dad, what do you mean? You’ve got half of Kurama. There’s no way you’re out of chakra yet.”

“He’s working on it,” Minato rolled his eyes.  “Koosa Jikan comes only from our own chakra. I never tried getting Kurama to boost it.”

“Jiraiya, Sakura,” Kakashi called them back outside, taking a few seconds to look back towards Konoha.  Thick smoke filled the air where the Hokage Tower recently stood. It seemed the fire had spread wildly after Obito’s small spurt was accelerated by Naruto’s winds.  “Yoriko can make it on her own. We already know that. Send her, Iruka, Genma, Sai, and Yamato to the rendezvous point first. Then take the kids, Naruto, and Hinata.  Minato, Obito, and I will stay here until Minato can take us to you.”

“What about me, Sensei?” Uchiha Sakura questioned.

“We need you here with us for a while,” Kakashi answered, looking to Minato.  “See what you can do to help him.”

“I should stay instead,” Hatake Sakura spoke up.

“No.”  Kakashi spoke softly, so that most of the others didn’t hear him.  “Sora should have one of us around.”

“Kakashi, we should all leave and regroup,” Minato reminded.  “What should we do about Sarutobi Asuma?”

Everyone looked at him with a bit of confusion.

“And your parents, Mom?  Don’t you think they’ll be targets, too?  Asuma-san and your mother by association, and your father for being Haruno.  We should at least warn them.”

“We don’t need to worry about them.”  She waved him off. “Why don’t we just leave now, recover somewhere, come up with a plan, and then reappear here a moment after we leave?”

Obito didn’t bother hiding the fact that he rolled his eyes.  “So, that’s why you married her. She’s the smart one.”

Sakura smacked him on the back of the head.  “Shut up, you. Kakashi, I mean it. We’re all hurt.  We’re all at a loss right now. Let’s just get out of here.”

**Author's Note:**

> As you can see, thing will take a bit to kick off here, but I have found a direction! It will become evident soon!


End file.
